2 builders who never spoke to each other

Judge the list on who joined, not the total

Addresses can be bought for almost nothing, which is exactly why the count is a poor measure of anything. Open and unsubscribe rates tell you whether the people arriving actually want the subject, and a shortfall there is a signal to fix the acquisition source rather than to send more.

The method

1. 01

   Judge list growth on whether the subscribers care about your subject, not on the count: bought addresses are cheap and worthless

2. 02

   Do not pad the list with bought addresses or contest entries; the junk will bury the subscribers who actually care.

3. 03

   Judge a young list by its unsubscribe rate rather than its size, since a low churn rate is the signal that you are collecting the right people.

4. 04

   Use open rate as your read on whether the list actually wants your content, and treat a shortfall as a signal to fix your content or your acquisition source.

What it returned

• 100

  Steven's goal was 100 new subscribers inside four weeks, with churn kept low.

• 40

  40-50% open rates on emails with a decent subject line are normal

• Ten thousand email addresses can be bought for under a hundred dollars, which he calls by its industry name: spam

Sources

• 0 to 100 Email Subscribers: A 28-Day Case StudyJustin Welsh · justinwelsh.me · 0 to 100 Email Subscribers: A 28-Day Case Study · 2024-11-30
• The Audience Building Challenge: 10,000 subscribers in 30 daysNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Where are you at now? · 2013-11-01
• Three reasons product launches failNathan Barry · nathanbarry.com · Interest · 2014-03-18